AFROTC vs SMART

[jingles]

Hi, I will be a senior in high school this fall and have been researching different scenarios for college, and specifically how to pay for it. Right now, AFROTC and SMART have caught my attention because of the tuition coverage each offers. I would also like to mention that I am 100% willing to serve- although SMART is technically civilian, right?
I intend to major in mech. engineering, and hopefully at a top school.
Thinking beyond college graduation, does anyone have an opinion/suggestions on Active Duty (AFROTC) vs DOD (SMART)?

Both are supposedly a 4 year commitment. I think I am leaning towards SMART, but through AFROTC I can get tuition paid starting freshman year (if I start an application now) and I can go the pilot route if I decide to.

Also in Active Duty AF, can I assume that I will probably receive an engineering career/job ?

Thanks

[Guest12345]

Hi, I will be a senior in high school this fall and have been researching different scenarios for college, and specifically how to pay for it. Right now, AFROTC and SMART have caught my attention because of the tuition coverage each offers. I would also like to mention that I am 100% willing to serve- although SMART is technically civilian, right?
I intend to major in mech. engineering, and hopefully at a top school.
Thinking beyond college graduation, does anyone have an opinion/suggestions on Active Duty (AFROTC) vs DOD (SMART)?

Both are supposedly a 4 year commitment. I think I am leaning towards SMART, but through AFROTC I can get tuition paid starting freshman year (if I start an application now) and I can go the pilot route if I decide to.

Also in Active Duty AF, can I assume that I will probably receive an engineering career/job ?

Thanks

As active duty AF, your first maybe 1-2 jobs will likely be engineering, but they quickly put active duty military on the acquisition/program management path. Depends on what you want long-term. They seem to do this to civillians as well, but AD AF there is a much bigger push to make them program managers. If you want to stay technically focused, there are a few places you can go as a civilian to do that, but most likely industry has better odds of you staying on the analysis side of things in the long run. Most AD AF will get their master's paid for at AFIT as well, but it may be wiser to get a MS degree from a different school. It really depends on what you want after your commitment.

[MRiddle]

As an enlisted veteran, I would recommend ROTC. The military has a lot of long term benefits that the DoD may not necessarily offer. I think you would walk away feeling much more accomplished in life and the DoD would most likely hire you after you AD service. Not to mention you will get to travel more and get to experience a much more meaningful way of life.

[tousi0311]

I agree with the first two posts, and will add one other thing.

From what I understand from Officer Vets, you still qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill after your obligation.
That means you can have ROTC pay for your Bachelors Degree, do your 4-5 years of Active Duty, and then use the GI Bill to get a Master's or PhD (Post 9/11 pays for 36 months of school). So I wouldn't worry too much about being cornered into a career track of management, because you will have that opportunity to go back to school if you want to.